Traffic calming projects underway on Pittsburgh's North Side

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Traffic bumps -- you either love them or hate them. The city of Pittsburgh, like many cities and towns, are adding even more. These types of changes are known as traffic calming.

During these road transformations, it almost always means you'll hear the sounds of steamrollers and construction crews as they take over the roadway. That's currently the case on several roads on Pittsburgh's North Side.  

For example, they're adding speed humps on Concord Street. These slow down obstacles known as traffic calming have two primary purposes: to encourage safer driving and to actually reduce the traffic flow.  

Not everyone likes them, and construction flag man Darius McKenzie hears from the unhappy drivers.

"No one likes the construction," he says. "As you can see, I'm standing in front of a large orange sign that says 'road closed' and they still want to go down the road. But I get it. I think that the speed bumps are really helpful," he said, adding, "We need to have calmer traffic."

A few streets over from McKenzie, Tripoli Street is also getting the exact same treatment.  Also on that street is a community garden, where Judy Eakin loves to spend time.  

"Oh no, I'm pro-speed bumps, because this is turning into much more of a community, and you have children here. They're outside playing, you want them to be safe as they go across the streets and the speed bumps will slow people down," she said.

So how often do drivers speed on these roads that are demanding traffic calming? On nearby Chestnut Street, according to data collected by the city, the number is 60%. After the speed humps, the number should go way down.

A fascinating fun fact for you: this is nothing new. Though most people in Pittsburgh will say they've just heard of traffic calming in the last couple of years, traffic calming was actually invented in the UK in 1932.